Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

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dead_poet
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by dead_poet »

The grade we gave Christian Ponder for his game vs SF was almost 3x higher than any previous single-game grade of Ponder's
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by Eli »

What's the deal with Walsh's kickoffs? Is his leg wearing out already? In camp and the preseason he was kicking them out of the back of the end zone. That kick to open the second half was fairly deep, but it was a line drive.
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by Mothman »

Eli wrote:What's the deal with Walsh's kickoffs? Is his leg wearing out already? In camp and the preseason he was kicking them out of the back of the end zone. That kick to open the second half was fairly deep, but it was a line drive.
He probably just hit it wrong or something. No kicker is going to kick it out of the back of the end zone every time.
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

psjordan wrote:Wow. Not only wow for the Vikes performance but wow for the fan reactions.

Literally the ONLY fans who thought the Vikes would win this game are the fans that think the Vikes will win EVERY game. So poo-pooing any naysayers really just boils down to a matter of degree. EVERY rational fan was a naysayer before this game to some degree. Fans had a right to be more pessimistic than optimistic.

Now, as far as this game goes, I say get as deliriously giddy as your personality will allow. I like the unabashed "Ponder could be top 10" type talk. I also don't mind anyone claiming it was smoke and mirrors. Fans SHOULD be excited over this win, and I say have at it.

However, and you knew there was a however coming, some of the critical plays that allowed us to win this game fall in the category of "rarely repeatable" in my book. Ponder throwing across his body with both feet off the ground and hitting a perfect TD pass? Loved seeing him do it but if he can repeat it consistently you can forget top 10, he'd be the best of all time. His TD scamper? Fantastic! Not exactly the meat of anyone's playbook however. One handed TD pass receptions while another player is wide open? Alex Smith throwing an absolutely horrible ball for a critical INT? Getting away with three fumbles in the 4th qtr of a tight game? Hmmm.

I know this is how games are played and won, but there are plays that make you feel your team has a solid core built to win in any conditions and then there are plays where you say "holy guacamole, I need to see the replay on that one!". The latter are a blast to watch if they go in your favor but they don't do much for my faith in consistent wins.

All in all I was thrilled with the win. The game was a blast to watch. And for me the absolute best best best part of this game was that I could see the Vikings players truly felt they could win this game. That seems a HUGE step forward. And this game certainly made every Vikes fan yell at the TV at some point, I guarantee it, and that is what investing time and emotion into a team is all about.

For me the game was a great data point, which may or may not be succeeded by further great data points. Early line says we are a 7.5 dog to the Lions (don't know if that will hinge on Stafford's injury), so obviously the rest of the world has not caught Purple Fever just yet.

We have a LOT of things to work on to become consistently good play-to-play and drive-to-drive. Can we play like this again? I don't know – some of those magical plays typically do not work out in successive games. But I can sure hope.

So for now I am as giddy as the rest of you!
Love your post. I have to disagree with you just a bit on one thing, though.

Maybe Ponder throwing on the run backpedaling to his left isn't repeatable. But good decision making is repeatable, and he made a good choice on that play and almost every play during the course of this game. And he did it against what is supposed to be the NFC's best, a team that took out Green Bay at Lambeau. That's where my optimism comes from. Will those crazy plays ALWAYS work? Absolutely not. But if Ponder keeps making good decisions, he'll keep us in a lot of ballgames.

And by the way, I believe that includes this weekend. My amateur, gut-feel view is that Detroit is going the wrong direction. Stafford threw 41 TDs last year ... he's on pace for 16 this year. Something is not right with the guy, not to mention, he's injured. The defense is so incredibly undisciplined. They have zero running game. I'm not saying we're going to win, but I think a 7.5 spread is far, far too big. We'll see.
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by Mothman »

J. Kapp 11 wrote:Maybe Ponder throwing on the run backpedaling to his left isn't repeatable. But good decision making is repeatable, and he made a good choice on that play and almost every play during the course of this game. And he did it against what is supposed to be the NFC's best, a team that took out Green Bay at Lambeau. That's where my optimism comes from. Will those crazy plays ALWAYS work? Absolutely not. But if Ponder keeps making good decisions, he'll keep us in a lot of ballgames.
Agreed... and backpedaling and throwing on the run successfully is repeatable. It's fundamentally sound and it won't work every time but what Ponder did on that play involved skill and it was skill he showed at other points in the game too. He put great touch on that pass and he did the same thing on a pass to Gerhart that was thrown while Ponder was on the run.
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

Mothman wrote: Agreed... and backpedaling and throwing on the run successfully is repeatable. It's fundamentally sound and it won't work every time but what Ponder did on that play involved skill and it was skill he showed at other points in the game too. He put great touch on that pass and he did the same thing on a pass to Gerhart that was thrown while Ponder was on the run.
Yeah, you know, his ability to throw accurately on the run has always been apparent to me. It was the throwing-from-the-pocket part of the game that I was worried about.

Not so much now. He's looking better and better in the pocket.
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by Youngb »

I'm from over in Niner territory and made an account to just come by and say you guys played a great game.

Ponder played lights out. The stat sheet doesn't tell the whole story, but when it seemed like we got him... he would just sneak out and get away somehow and run for a first or pass it. I was getting so frustrated, not gonna lie :wallbang: lol.

Our D stacked up the line early to prevent the run and dared Ponder to beat us. Well he did, and then when adjustments were made to slow him down you guys started to run the ball more and were effective at it.

We came out passing a lot, which I didn't understand. We had success running the ball, but we didn't do it often which confused me.

Overall, great game. The Zebras were atrocious and honestly, I'm glad it didn't effect the outcome because you guys beat us in all facets of the game (minus kick returns).

GL on the Rest of the season

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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by Just Me »

Youngb wrote:I'm from over in Niner territory and made an account to just come by and say you guys played a great game.

Ponder played lights out. The stat sheet doesn't tell the whole story, but when it seemed like we got him... he would just sneak out and get away somehow and run for a first or pass it. I was getting so frustrated, not gonna lie :wallbang: lol.

Our D stacked up the line early to prevent the run and dared Ponder to beat us. Well he did, and then when adjustments were made to slow him down you guys started to run the ball more and were effective at it.

We came out passing a lot, which I didn't understand. We had success running the ball, but we didn't do it often which confused me.

Overall, great game. The Zebras were atrocious and honestly, I'm glad it didn't effect the outcome because you guys beat us in all facets of the game (minus kick returns).

GL on the Rest of the season.

-YB-
Good post. To offer some insights, I wouldn't be too hard on your coaching staff for trying to pass against our D. Our secondary has been torched at times this year, so I'm guessing the strategy was to play to the Vikings weakness (as opposed to SF strength). I think everyone agrees the refs calls (on both sides) are just getting ridiculous at times. It was one loss for your team at the Metrodome which is a hard place for anyone to win in against the Vikings. If I were a 9ers fan I'd look at that game as a "trap" game (or a hiccup - all teams have them throughout the year). I'd still say your team is the team to beat in the NFC for now. January is a long way away - You'll recover. Good luck to your team on the rest of the season...
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by PurpleJarl »

Greetings! Long time lurker first time poster. I just wanted to say I've been a Vikings fan for a really long time and have always appreciated the good conversation and points that have come out of this site! I am excited about this year and see good things from ponder, mostly deriving from his intelligence, Looking forward to seeing some good back and forth.

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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by S197 »

I have to say, the 49er fans have been by far the most cordial we've had over here in a long long time. Goodluck with the rest of your season.
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by vikeinmontana »

PurpleJarl wrote:Greetings! Long time lurker first time poster. I just wanted to say I've been a Vikings fan for a really long time and have always appreciated the good conversation and points that have come out of this site! I am excited about this year and see good things from ponder, mostly deriving from his intelligence, Looking forward to seeing some good back and forth.

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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by Arma »

I still can't get over this win. I've been talking to everyone about it the whole day and they are kind of annoyed :lol:. It's just the way the Vikings came out and absolutely dominated the 49ers. Kalil made Aldon/Justin Smith (I always forget which one, they are both crazy good though), look like they were nothing to him, Ponder was pinpoint on almost all his passes, AP ran just well enough to keep the playaction healthy, and our defense actually showed up and played with some fire. This game is something I haven't seen since '09, and it just excites me that I just saw a bit of what we will look like in the future when all our players are seasoned and come together. If Spielmen has another A+ draft like this last one, I'll warn other fans to watch out because we got a powerhouse team that will be there year in and year out for the next 5-6 years minimum. I might be going a bit overboard with the optimism, but I can't help it; it's just awesome to watch the Vikings actually go out and dominate another team like the 49ers.
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by Cliff »

S197 wrote:I have to say, the 49er fans have been by far the most cordial we've had over here in a long long time. Goodluck with the rest of your season.
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

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:appl:
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Re: Vikes/49ers Post-game thoughts

Post by VikingPaul73 »

WOW!!!

This was a more shocking win than the Divisional Championship game in 1987!!!

So after week 3, the Vikings have the same # of wins as the Pack, the Pats, and the Saints...COMBINED :smilevike:

Who would have thunk it!!?? Certainly not me!!
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